A Real Smile
by ShadowLordCC
Summary: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN ALL OF SEASON 5 UNLESS YOU'RE COOL WITH SPOILERS! STOP RIGHT HERE! DO NOT READ THE REST OF THE SUMMARY! STOP! RIGHT NOW! Imagine a world where Sam had never thought of saying yes to Lucifer and jumping in. A world where one little idea never popped into the younger Winchester's head. In this world, Castiel is all but powerless.
1. Together Again

Dean heard the familiar thudding of wings and knew that an Angel was standing behind him. Which angel? He didn't know the answer, and nor did he care to find out. Dean had had enough of the feathery sons of bitches. They always managed to screw his life up. Dean did not turn. He looked up from his calloused hands and began walking down the front steps of the house.

"Hello Dean."

Dean paused at the bottom. That voice belonged to Castiel. The one Angel he had been able to tolerate until recently. Merely because Cas wasn't in league with the others. Still, Dean did not want to talk to anyone right now, let alone somebody with shadowy, ever-present wings. Dean kept walking.

"Dean."

Dean ignored the angel.

The crunching of Castiel's footsteps began, following closely behind Dean.

"Why are you ignoring me?" Cas asked, his voice full of curiosity.

Dean shook his head. Cas still had no clue about the way human minds worked.

"Can't you hear me Dean?"

Dean sighed. "I can hear you Cas, I'm just not acknowledging your existence."

"But you just…" there was a long and rather awkward pause as Castiel tried to muddle out what Dean had said.

"Don't strain yourself," Dean said and stopped briefly at the garden fence. "The point is that I don't want to talk to you."

The crunching footsteps stopped someway behind Dean.

Castiel was confused. He honestly had no idea why Dean was acting like that. He just didn't realise that he had done something so horribly wrong.

Dean turned to look back at the house he'd left, expecting to see the angel standing there, trench coat flying about him in the wind, but Cas was gone. Dean turned back, loosening his tie slightly and rounding the corner. He slid into the driver's side of the Impala and just sat there. The passenger seat was empty and there were food wrappers littering the back.

"Where's Sam?"

Dean jumped and glanced in the rear view mirror to find Cas staring back at him, a scowl on his face.

"He left."

"Where did he go…?"

"Cas you didn't come to help us."

"I couldn't… I'm sorry," Cas looked down.

"You're SORRY!?" Dean nearly shouted. "You left us to deal with this crap by ourselves and now Sam has gone to Detroit!"

Cas looked up again, eyes widening. "What!?"

"We had a… disagreement… and he took off! He's going to say yes to Lucifer, Cas! I feel it."

"I… We must stop him."

"Don't you get it Cas? We can't. It's too late now. We had our chance, but you weren't here, and now it's too late!"

"It was hardly my fault," Castiel mumbled.

"Cas, you left us!" Dean huffed. "You left me and Sam and you didn't tell us why. We were unprepared and we had no idea where the hell you were!" Dean turned around to look the angel directly in the eye. "We needed you Cas. We begged for help. And you said no."

After a few seconds of silence, Cas turned from Dean to squint out the window. "I am not responsible for you and Sam falling out… again."

Dean flinched. He didn't let Castiel see how deep that hit him, just rolled his eyes and got the engine going. He couldn't be bothered explaining that his fight with Sam had been sparked due to Castiel being absent. Lucifer walked free. Sam wanted to go after him. Dean wouldn't let him and Sam had snapped. Again. Same song, different verse. Sam could make his own choices and wouldn't let Dean get in his way. He refused to accept the fact that he was destined to say yes, to become the Devil's vessel.

Castiel sat in the back of the car quietly for the whole ride back to the motel.

When Dean slammed the door shut and dug the key out of his pocket, Cas was already standing by the door. The angel forgot about door handles sometimes.

Once inside, Dean flung off his suit jacket and took off the white shirt and nicely ironed pants. Flinging on his usual gear, Dean collapsed onto the single bed in the room.

Castiel stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. "Dean… I couldn't help you… I was… busy," Cas chose his words carefully as he watched Dean from under his eyelashes.

Dean sat up. "Yeah? Doing what? Something more important than stopping the freaking apocalypse?!"

Cas sat down on the little chair that sat against the wall. He bounced his knee slightly and looked around the motel room with a slightly pained look on his face. "No… I WAS trying to stop it… I… Sam just… isn't our top priority right now."

"Get out," Dean said, shaking slightly as he pointed to the door.

Castiel didn't move. "We can go help him Dean. All is not lost."

"Yes," Dean whispered, voice cracking, "it is. We've lost, Cas. Now leave."

Cas shook his head and then he was gone.

Dean marvelled again at the strange way the angels seemed to flitter out of existence. They sort of… folded into the background. He ran a hand over his face and licked his lips. Pulling out his phone, Dean scrolled through his contact. He stopped at Sam's number. Should I call him?

Just as he was about to put the phone away, it buzzed into life.

"Sammy?" Dean choked out.

"No, it's me Dean."

It was Castiel.

"Cas, you were here five seconds ago!"

"I know, but you ordered me out of your room and I still need to talk to you," Cas said in his usual, husky voice.

Dean sighed and went over to the door. Yanking it open, he found Castiel standing on the other side, phone pressed to his ear. Dean hung up and stared at him in silence. He raised his eyebrows and leant against the door frame, arms folded. He wished that Castiel could understand why Dean was angry with him. He wished that Cas could just mojo back into the past and fix it all.

"Dean, I'm sorry. I truly am. I wish I could have been there to help you, but I couldn't. There was a very powerful witch who was planning on giving Lucifer more power. I had to stop him."

Dean nodded and looked up from his feet. Cas was staring at him, unblinking. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Cas still didn't blink. "There was no time."

In the past, Dean would have backed away when Castiel got so close, but recently, he'd become accustomed to the angel's personal space issues. Dean licked his lips and put a hand on Cas' shoulder. "Can you promise me something?"

Cas nodded, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Dean nodded back at him. "When Sam's Lucifer and the Croatoan virus has spread, promise me that you'll stay away from drugs."

"Why would I…?"

"Just promise me, okay?"

"Okay… I promise…" Cas reached up absent-mindedly and covered Dean's hand with his own.

Dean pulled his hand back and let the arm drop to his side.

"The world isn't going to end like that," Cas whispered, cocking his head to the side.

A tear fell from Dean's eye and he blinked it away in frustration. "Yes it is."

With that, Cas reached out and slammed the palm of his hand into Dean's shoulder, squishing him against the wall. "Don't talk like that! Not again!"

Dean blinked down at Castiel in surprise. He felt as if Cas' blue eyes were boring holes into him.

"Don't give up! We've been through this!" Cas was shouting at the top of his lungs, his face inches away from Dean's. "You can't say yes to Michael! He's already found a replacement vessel!"

Dean was speechless. He didn't dare look Cas in the eyes when he was this close. It felt rude, as if he were staring into the angel's soul. He wasn't sure he was ready to see this guy's soul.


	2. Watching the World Burn

Castiel was angry. He didn't want to hurt Dean like he had the last time they'd been in this situation, but he couldn't just stand around and let Dean give in. He didn't know what else he could say. What could he do to convince this man that he wasn't worthless? Because that's what Dean thought. He thought he was nothing, just a pawn in the heaven's giant game of chess. Cas believed that Dean was more than that. Dean was important.

When Dean finally spoke, it was only to utter the words "I'm not saying yes," and slide down so that he was sitting in the doorway.

Cas placed a hand on Dean's head. "So you're just going to watch the world burn?"

"What else am I supposed to do?" Dean sounded like a lost, wounded dog. He looked up at Cas, eyes shining with unshed tears.

"We have to get Sam back. We have to do as Gabriel said."

"We've already tried trapping Lucifer! Man, that's what we were doing when you were AWOL!"

"Then we go and get Sam back anyway! He's going to do something stupid, Dean! Even if he doesn't say yes, if we just let Sam go, he's going to die!"

"Then let's get going!" Dean got to his feet and Castiel smiled at him smugly.

Cas reached out at pressed two fingers to Dean's forehead and frowned. He let his hand drop to his side. That wasn't going to happen. "We're going to have to drive."

Castiel sat in the passenger seat, watching Dean curiously. He found the car confining, completely confusing and unbearably slow.

"What is it, Cas?" Dean asked, glancing at the angel out of the corner of his eyes as he turned the radio down a bit.

"I was just listening to the music. It's… interesting…" Cas wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

"It's awesome, Cas. You'll learn to love it."

Cas nodded and let his gaze wander to the world that was whizzing past in a blur. "How did Sam know that Lucifer was in Detroit?"

Dean's grip on the steering wheel tightened and his knuckles turned white. "He wouldn't tell me. He just said that he knew. It's not too surprising; there have been omens and things around there for ages."

Cas nodded again, absent-mindedly scratching at the back of his neck.

They fell back into a comfortable silence. Well, it would have been silence if it weren't for the roar of the Impala's engine and the radio that blasted ACDC.

Cas soon found himself getting kind of sleepy. It was a strange thing. Cas still had some of his angelic abilities, but Jimmy's needs and wishes seemed to be seeping through. Cas yawned. He didn't like the feeling. He blinked sheepishly at Dean a few times before letting his head rest against the cold window.

They turned onto a long straight road, surrounded on all sides, by nothing. There wasn't a thing. Possibly a little tree every few yards, but apart from that, it was just grass. There was a rumbling of thunder overhead and the radio began sputtering. The lights blinked on and off and Dean elbowed Cas awake as he pulled the car over to the side of the road.

Castiel moaned grumpily and squinted up and Dean. "What is it?" He asked and rubbed at his eyes.

Dean couldn't keep the smile off his face as the angel tried to blink away the sleep. "Something's up," Dean said as he dimmed the lights and tried to see out into the darkness.

"Perhaps there are demons…" Cas mumbled, his voice quiet and sleepy.

"Well, of course there are demons, Cas. The question is how many are there?"

Cas tugged on his coat and got out of the car, staring around the empty fields suspiciously. "Lucifer's here."

"And you know that… how? Your spidey senses are tingling?" Dean raised his eyebrows sceptically.

Cas rolled his eyes and raised his arm, pointing off into the distance.

Dean could just make out a figure, standing in the darkness.

"He's waiting for Michael," Cas huffed, digging his hands into his pockets.

"So…. Are we leaving now?" Dean questioned, studying Castiel's face in the dull light.

"That would be best… It would be foolish to take on Lucifer by ourselves."

The car doors slammed shut just as the words passed his lips. The wind picked up and the familiar barking of hell hounds sounded close by.

"Leaving so soon?"

Cas spun around. Lucifer stood only centimetres away, his vessel's skin peeling off and a crazy smile on his face. Cas reached for his pocket, but Lucifer forced his hands behind his back.

"You don't want to do that," he drawled.

Dean pulled the colt out of his jeans and aimed at the devil. He was launched backwards before he could shoot and felt his back crunch as he was smashed back into the fence on the side of the road.

"Dean. Really? I expected more from you…" Lucifer let Cas fall to the ground and crouched in front of Dean. "I didn't expect to see you two… but now you're here, you can help me."

Dean spat at the devil. "I will never help you!"

Lucifer sighed. He struck out at Dean, burying his fist in the man's stomach. It literally ripped through the flesh.

Dean yelled and coughed, blood bubbling up at his mouth.

"Dean!" Cas shouted and threw himself at the Devil. He came up against an invisible barrier and was forced back.

Lucifer smiled to himself. "Sam will be here soon."

Dean's vision went all blurry and he pressed his hands to his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Lucifer, please," Cas begged, not taking his eyes off Dean who was quickly losing his colour.

Lucifer chuckled and smacked his hand into Dean's face. "You are strange Castiel," he said and paused. His eyes glazed over and he got to his feet. Rubbing a hand over his face, the Devil looked from the angel to the man lying there with his guts spilling out. "Michael has a new vessel Dean, I don't think God will bring you back again," he said quietly.

Dean spluttered, spraying blood everywhere.

"Sorry boys, looks like I don't need your help anymore. Your brother is looking for me."

Castiel blinked and Lucifer was gone. The invisible wall broke and Cas tumbled forward onto his hands and knees. He crawled over to Dean.

Dean opened his mouth to say something, but that just caused him to cough up more blood.

Cas tried to smile but his mouth felt heavy and refused to do what we wanted. "You're going to be fine, Dean," he whispered and grabbed hold of Dean by the arms. He moved Dean's hand from the wound and lifted his shirt away from it. Castiel didn't know exactly why Lucifer had left so suddenly, and he did not want to find out.

"Cas, just leave me," Dean gurgled, wincing at the pain.

"You're not dead yet," Cas sounded out of breath as he lifted his friend and half dragged half carried him into the passenger side of the car.

"Don't…. hurt… her…" Dean was struggling to get the words out now. He wasn't going to last much longer.

Cas sat awkwardly in the driver's seat. He had no clue what he was doing. Deep inside, Cas thought he was going to kill them both. Well, Dean. And Dean was already dying…

Dean laughed quietly and reached up a hand. He hooked his fingers into Castiel's coat and pulled him forward so that he could whisper in his ear. A few tips on how to drive and not kill everyone.

Cas swallowed the lump in his throat and began the terrifying task of getting Dean to a hotel safely.

* * *

**Note: **I wrote this ages ago, in one big lump... I really could have posted it all in one big lump, but it's pretty long...

I hope you guys like it. It was the first Destiel fic I ever wrote, and I was pretty darn proud of it. :3 Of course, this isn't the last bit, there are 2 more.


	3. Not Yet

When Castiel swerved crazily into the car park, tires screeching and smoking, Dean was unconscious. Cas struggled with turning the car off and closed his eyes for a second, trying to get his breath back. He'd scraped along the gutter a few times and had been going too fast for comfort. Dean wasn't going to be happy. With that thought, Cas looked over at Dean. He was ghostly pale and when Cas placed a hand on his face, he was cold as ice. He was still breathing… just. "You're not dying, Dean. Not yet."

The young lady standing behind the reception desk looked up in surprise as Castiel entered, his sleeves rolled up to hide the blood.

Cas took one look at the woman and decided to avoid talking to her. He didn't feel like thinking about what he was going to say. He stalked past her and grabbed a key off the hook.

"Hey! You can't just," she began but Castiel interrupted her as he shoved a wad of cash into her hand.

"We'll be in room 142," he said and hurried back out to the car. He hauled Dean out and carried him into the room he'd just paid for. It only had the one double bed, but that didn't exactly bother the Castiel.

"Cas…." Dean's eyes were cracked open and he as watching the angel curiously his grip on the man's arm was as tight as he could get it.

Cas laid him on the floor gently. "It's okay…" he said and he closed his eyes. He placed two fingers on Dean's forehead and frowned. He couldn't feel it.

"It's not working," Dean whispered his breathing jagged and the blood from his wound soaking into the carpet.

Cas opened his eyes.

Dean was almost gone.

Cas frowned and pressed the entire palm of his hand to the dying man's forehead.

Dean gurgled and his head flopped back, his body going limp.

"No!" Cas shouted and gave Dean a little shake, cradling his head and holding him up. The crouching angel sank down onto his knees and smacked his hand into Dean's forehead again. "Please," he whispered. "PLEASE!"

The tingling feeling of his power still didn't come and Dean remained motionless in his arms.

Cas tried pointlessly to stop the flow of blood from the hole in Dean's stomach, taking off his trench coat and holding it there as he tried again.

Dean hiccupped a last breath before the rise and fall of his chest stopped.

Castiel's eyes widened and he felt at Dean's neck for his pulse. There was nothing. "No, no, no, no, no, no," Cas muttered to himself and he felt his breath catch in his throat.  
His nose tickled and his eyes stung with tears. One rolled down his cheek and he wiped it away, smearing blood on his face. He took a shaky breath and slammed his hand again and again into Dean's head, using all his strength. Over and over and over, though nothing changed. He turned his face and looked up. "Please, bring him back," he whispered quietly. "Dean is still important," he said louder before screaming, "BRING HIM BACK YOU BASTARD!"

Tears streaked lines in the blood and dirt on his face and rolled off the end of his chin, falling to hit Dean's still face. Cas looked back down at the man in his arms. "Please come back to me, Dean," he choked out and he softly laid his hand on the side of Dean's face. He leaned forward, pressed a kiss to the top of the man's head and leaned back, looking around the hotel room in desperation. He wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his now red-stained shirt and took a deep breath. He'd never felt like this before. Like the world was falling apart around him and everything he'd done in the past years was wasted.

Dean's eyes were vacant. They were open and yet, unseeing. The expression on his face was peaceful and also completely disturbing.

Cas reached out and shut Dean's eyes. Now he looked like he could be sleeping. That was better.

The ticking of the clock seemed unnaturally loud and the wind roaring outside made Castiel feel so very lonely.

And that was when he felt it. When he felt as if his head was going to explode, Cas felt the power surging through him. Was God being kind? Castiel let out a sigh of relief as the familiar feeling rushed through him.

He looked back down at Dean and let it begin. A light began to shine somewhere between Cas' hand and the skin of Dean's cheek.

Cas could feel the pain twisting inside of him and another tear leaked out. He hiccupped and concentrated on what he was doing. He was healing Dean. Putting him back together and bringing him back to life.

It hurt. There was no denying that. This wasn't easy for Cas. He felt as if his stomach was trying to rip free and his head was throbbing. "Damn it…. Dean," he puffed, another tear rolling down his cheek. The tears confused him. They were something he'd never experienced before and he didn't even really know what they meant. All he knew was that he was in pain (not just physical) and that he wanted Dean to be alive again.

Castiel squeezed his eyes shut. His head felt like it was going to explode. He felt something dripping from his nose and he knew that it was bleeding.

The light under his hand intensified, but nothing seemed to happen. The light faded away, leaving Dean as ghostly white and still as he had been before.

Cas sighed, his breath shaky, and laid Dean's head on the floor gently. He rocked back and stared at the man, unable to do anything. It's over, Castiel thought, it's all over.


	4. What Happened?

Dean gasped into consciousness and blinked away the darkness. His heart was pounding, trying to make up for the past ten minutes. His vision was blurry at first, but the world came back into focus soon enough. He lifted himself up into a sitting position, though his head felt heavy and his stomach hurt. He felt as though he'd been hit by a bus. And then he remembered it. Lucifer's hand sliding into his belly as though it was made of butter. The Devil wiggled his fingers around inside Dean and left him to die.

"Dean?" The quiet whisper that came from behind him was almost unrecognisable. Castiel sat behind him. His usually white shirt was stained with blood and his eyes were red. Tears ran down his cheeks and he was chewing on his bottom lip.

It was an unusual sight. He never thought he'd see any angel like this, let alone Cas. Dean looked down and saw that the angel's trench coat was sitting, crumpled up and covered with blood on his stomach. He picked it up and held it out to Cas.

Cas stared at it for a moment before taking it and letting it fall to the floor beside him. "You were dead… I didn't think it had worked…. I didn't know… Dean…" Cas couldn't finish what he was trying to say. He just looked up at Dean, sniffing and hiccupping in an almost funny way.

Dean frowned and shifted around so that he was up on his knees. He was merely three inches away from the angel but he didn't move away. He reached out and gently placed his hand on Cas' cheek, brushing away the tears with his thumb. "It's okay now Cas," he said softly and moved his hand to grip the man's shoulder.

Castiel crumpled forwards.

Dean caught him and held him.

Cas had his arms limp by his side and his head was on Dean's shoulder. He was tired. He couldn't even muster up the energy to move away from Dean. Not that he wanted to move away from the man…. He suddenly found himself wondering if he was making him awkward. He probably was. He was good at that. Castiel was panting, tears soaking into Dean's shirt where his head rested. He was shaking slightly and oh so tired. Cas closed his eyes. Everything was alright now.

Dean put one hand in Castiel's soft hair and the other around his waist, keeping him from tumbling to the floor. The angel seemed so… fragile in his arms, so breakable and vulnerable… Dean leaned back and carefully pulled Cas upright to get a good look at his saviour's face. "You look like hell,' he said and Castiel's mouth quirked up into that funny half smile of his.

Castiel nodded.

"You saved me again…" Dean wiped away the last of Cas' tears and planted a soft kiss on the top of his head. "I owe you. Big time."

Cas didn't reply. He just reached up with an arm that felt like led and covered Dean's hand with his own.

Dean smiled softly and kissed Castiel again, this time on the mouth.

Cas froze in surprise. This was the last thing that he had expected. When Dean pulled back, Cas felt a smile on his lips.

Dean wasn't smiling, just staring with a twinkle in his eyes.

Castiel was glad that he wasn't smiling. The only smile that ever seemed to grace Dean's lips was a cheesy one. A fake one. Cas didn't like that fake grin. It only hurt to know that Dean was hiding something. To Cas, the fact that Dean wasn't grinning, meant that he wasn't hiding.

Dean's mouth twitched up at the corner and he leant in again, brushing his lips lightly against Castiel's.

Cas closed his eyes, holding onto Dean to keep from falling.

"You're okay, right?" Dean mumbled quietly, resting his forehead against Cas'.

"Bringing someone back to life isn't easy."

Dean softly ran his hand down Castiel's back. "Then why'd you do it?"

Cas' breath came out shaky and he shivered. "Because you're Dean…" He said as though that was the obvious answer. "I've done everything for you… I couldn't have it all be for nothing."

Dean pulled back again. "That's all you care about?"

Cas frowned in confusion. "No."

A real, genuine smile flashed across Dean's face then and he pulled the angel towards him, kissing him gently.

Cas was still freaking out slightly when they broke apart.

"So," Dean said moving back slightly, "Lucifer's going to get Sammy?"

"It would appear so…" Cas stared down at the blood soaked carpet, a blush spreading through his cheeks.

"That scumbag!" Dean grumbled and lifted up his shirt to look at the new skin. It was slightly pink and it still kind of hurt.

Cas looked up and Dean grinned at him, back to his normal self. Cas frowned. "I don't like it when you smile…"

Dean 's smile vanished and he raised an eyebrow.

Cas sighed quietly and looked Dean in the eye. "It's not a real smile. It's fake. When you smile, you aren't you anymore," he was so quiet that Dean almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. Cas crossed his arms defensively and shrank back slightly, embarrassed by the little outburst.

Dean licked his lips and reached out to hook his fingers into Castiel's shirt, yanking him forward.

Cas' eyes widened in surprise as he toppled forward, unfolding his arms to hold himself up.

Dean lay back on the floor and chuckled as Cas let his eyes wander around the room awkwardly. "Dude, relax."

The red of Cas' cheeks got impossibly darker and he stared down at Dean.

Dean rolled his eyes and pushed Cas back up again though he held onto his tie to stop him from getting too far away.

"Dean…. I don't," Cas began, but he never got to finish that sentence because Dean tugged on the tie and kissed him, hooking his fingers in the soft brown hair and pinning Cas to him.

Cas sighed and wound his arms around Dean with only the smallest amount of reluctance.

Dean smiled around the kiss and pulled away for a second to whisper, "it's okay, Castiel."

Cas hooked his fingers into Dean's t shirt, not really knowing what to do. He felt Dean's hands move from his hair and run down his chest, undoing the button's expertly. Cas opened his eyes suddenly and pulled away, unsure of what was happening.

"Cas, calm down," Dean smiled a genuine smile and pulled Cas forward again.

Sam knocked on the door of room 142 and waited. He'd been driving past when he'd seen the Impala in the car park. Sam knew that Dean wasn't the only one with that type of car, but a few questions at the reception desk had proved him right. A man with dark hair and a light brown trench coat had walked in and just taken a key. Sam tapped his foot impatiently and rapped his knuckles on the door again.

The door opened about a minute later and Sam stepped back in surprise.

Castiel was standing there, shirt bloody, unbuttoned and tie hanging around his neck. His hair was ruffled and hanging in front of his eyes. Cas glanced behind him, chewing on his bottom lip.

From the door, Sam could see the bed. He could see his brother, fast asleep and tangled in the sheets.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

Cas' ears turned red. The blush spread to his cheeks and he reached up a hand to rub the back of his neck. He looked at the ground, eyes wide, avoiding Sam's gaze. He ran the hand forward, through his hair, messing it up further. Castiel stepped back and closed the door in Sam's face. He had no idea what to say or do. Not wanting to wake Dean, Cas sat down in the chair in the corner and tried to calm down.

There was a loud pounding at the door. It wouldn't stop.

Dean grunted and his eyes flew open. He pushed himself up and narrowed his eyes at Cas. He looked at the door and sighed, throwing on a pair of jeans and tugging a new shirt over his head. Dean glanced at the angel once more before staggering over to the door and yanking it open. He blinked in surprise at his brother before turning around and kicking the door closed as he stalked back into the room.

Sam's huff of frustration could be heard from inside. The door swung open a few seconds later, smacking into the wall as Sam entered.

Dean's cheeks were flushed. He shoved his hands onto his pockets and leaned back into the wall by Cas' chair. He turned towards the angel slightly. "That shirt's going to need ironing you know," he said quietly. The shirt in question was creased and the sleeves were rolled up to hide the splatters of blood from the younger Winchester. Cas had obviously managed to clean out the majority of it somehow…

Castiel looked up at him. He pulled the tie from around his neck and twisted it in his hands nervously. "I never iron it… the crinkles don't bother me," he mumbled and slowly did up the buttons.

Dean chuckled and ruffled a hand through the man's hair. "Well Sammy, nice to see you're safe."

Sam frowned. "Yeah… never even found Lucifer…"

Dean kept his hand in Castiel's hair as he looked his brother up and down. Why hadn't Lucifer found him? Did Sam get out of Detroit before he got caught? "Maybe he found another vessel. You know, like Michael did."

"I find that very hard to believe," Cas grumbled shaking his head slightly and trying to look up at Dean from where he sat. "This isn't over for Sam. He still has a part to play."

"Ever the optimist, hey Cas?" Dean rolled his eyes.

Sam frowned again. This wasn't happening… only it was…. Sam rubbed hand over his eyes and gave himself a little pinch just to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. He squeezed his eyes back open. There they were, Cas and Dean, staring at each other all affectionate like. "What the hell happened while I was gone!?"

Dean grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

**The End**


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